eHow has a good article on keeping food cold in your cooler on extended camping trips. Although high summer temperatures are mostly gone for the season, it’s still important to keep certain foods cold to reduce the chances of food borne illnesses. This past Memorial Day we camped at Fort Mountain State Park and found ourselves buying a bag of ice each day just to keep our drinks and hot dogs cold – luckily there was a camp store in the park with plenty of ice.

So what does eHow recommend? First off, instead of using bags of ice the author prefers to freeze two-liter bottles full of water to use as large, inexpensive ice packs. The large block of ice takes longer to melt and it’s self-contained – no more messy leakage (aside from condensation) in your cooler! Freeze your pre-packed drinks like iced tea and lemonade and you’ll find your drinks will cool themselves!

But don’t expect the drinks to do all the work for you – consider freezing your food beforehand as well. Frozen hot dogs will stay cold much longer in your cooler and they’ll also serve to keep everything around them cold as well. Sure, freezing drinks and food beforehand takes some extra planning but the results are well worth it.

Keeping your cooler packed tightly and located in a shady spot can also go a long way toward keeping food cold longer. Storing your cooler on the ground (as opposed to on a picnic table) provides added insulation that can extend your cool power by up to 15%.

For extra long trips you’ll probably need to add bags of ice at some point and it’s important to drain out any liquid that’s accumulated in the bottom of your cooler before adding the frozen stuff. Also make sure your food isn’t in direct contact with the water itself as this can introduce contamination from uncooked meat and other items.

Keeping your cooler cooler is simple with a little deliberate planning. Next year see how long you can go without adding ice to your cooler during a camping trip!

Related posts:

1. Food for Hiking
2. Backpacking: Appalachian Trail – Wayah Bald to Cold Springs Gap
3. Keeping your gear safe while backpacking
4. National Parks Announce 3 Free Weekends This Summer!
5. Tips for camping with your dog

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 8:08 am and is filed under camping, outdoor tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.